Have no fear, SuperGordon is here to help save the world - but only in new comic book 'Captain Britain'

The deadly alien force has already infiltrated the very heart of government, and Britain is facing an intergalactic invasion.

Only one thing can stop them before it's too late.

Threat: The Home Secretary in the fictitious cabinet is also an alien

Is it a bird . . ? Is it a plane . . ? No  -  it's SuperGordon  -  with a little help from Captain Britain and a comic-book coalition of superpower heroes.

YIKES! The dashing Prime Minister discovers that three members of his Cabinet are really aliens in disguise.

ZAP! He devises a masterplan to thwart the evil plot.

KERPOW! He briefs a team of Secret Agent helpers to fly into action.

This is Gordon Brown as you have never seen him before  -  a Marvel Comic good-guy with chisel-jaw features and a steely resolve.

He appears in a new edition of the U.S-produced Captain Britain cartoon strip which portrays our Premier as a hero who saves his critically flawed Government  -  and the nation  -  from disaster.

If only things were so easy for the real Gordon. Here in the real world, the beleaguered Prime Minister is swamped by crisis after crisis and is facing the most dismal poll ratings for decades.

In the Captain Britain fantasy, he emerges as the heroic leader of a counterattack to destroy the Skrull plan for world domination.

Saviour: Gordon Brown comes to the rescue in 'Captain Britain' by helping to protect the planet from an evil green-skinned ET race known as 'The Skrulls'

The internationally popular comic first  featured Captain Britain in 1976 as the UK equivalent to Captain America.

The plot that affords Gordon a starring role involves him assigning home-grown superheroes  -  including a female operative named Spitfire  -  to Britain's top secret MI13 intelligence agency. He then dispatches them to see off the Skrull threat.

Need A Hero: Gordon Brown comes to the rescue in a new comic book Captain Britain

The aliens have targeted a location in the Cheviot Hills. 'Odd choice,' muses Gordon, risking the wrath of most of Northumberland by adding that there is 'nothing of strategic value nearby'.

But  -  Curses!  -  the hills conceal the gateway to a hidden world of supernatural powers.

The Skrull civilisation wants to find a way to penetrate it, so three Super Skrulls have used their form-changing capability to pose as members of the Cabinet.

Although the alien ministers are never named or portrayed in the comic strip, one is revealed to have taken over as Home Secretary (which could explain a great deal in real life).

Stretching credibility even further, behind-the-scenes advice and situation reports are provided by an unseen character called Alistaire.

<p>Enter SuperGordon  -  masterminding a defence of the realm from a room that looks suspiciously like it might overlook Downing Street.

Here, he commands Captain Britain to spearhead the crucial counter-attack.

Lest there be any misunderstandingincidentally, Captain Britain is the one in the Lycratight Union Flag outfit, and Gordon is the one in the grey suit.

This latest twist in the longrunning fictional adventure is the work of British novelist Paul Cornell, who has previously written scripts for Doctor Who, and lists politics and science-fiction among his interests.

'I specified the character to look like him,' Mr Cornell said. 'I'm quite a fan of Gordon Brown  -  so I'm pleased we've given him a PR boost on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world.'

And those alien ministers? 'You never see the Cabinet members involved,' said Mr Cornell. 'I'll just leave that to people's imaginations.'